Flesh

Leviticus 6:224-7:10

The Sin Offering

24 The Lord said to Moses, 25 “Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. 26 The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in the sanctuary area, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 27 Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area. 28 The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water. 29 Any male in a priest’s family may eat it; it is most holy. 30 But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned up.

The Guilt Offering

7 “‘These are the regulations for the guilt offering, which is most holy: 2 The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be splashed against the sides of the altar. 3 All its fat shall be offered: the fat tail and the fat that covers the internal organs, 4 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. 5 The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord. It is a guilt offering. 6 Any male in a priest’s family may eat it, but it must be eaten in the sanctuary area; it is most holy.7 “‘The same law applies to both the sin offering and the guilt offering: They belong to the priest who makes atonement with them. 8 The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone may keep its hide for himself. 9 Every grain offering baked in an oven or cooked in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who offers it, 10 and every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.

God is explaining very details to Moses how they do the work of different kinds of offerings, which could make them confused like me and also feel very tricky to do all things well. One thing that catches my eyes is that the sentence in verse 27,  'Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy.' The flesh of the offered animal doesn't look holy as it is going to be slaughtered soon, but God says that the sin offering is holy as well as the sanctuary and the temple court.

Then why is that? Because the offering bleeds for my sin and guilt, and because of the blood, I could be saved instead of him or her, not just it. They are not dying because they are inferior to anyone of us, but as there is no other way to forgive my sins and your sins. In the other way, the animal symbolizes Jesus, the Savior, who bled all drops of it for me, so His flesh is holy as it means Jesus Himself. John 1: 14, 'the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.' Here, the Word means 'Logos(말씀)' and also 'mediator(중보자)' in Greek. God himself became a mediator, which means Jesus became a mediator as well, so God continues to tell that the flesh of the sin offering  is holy. 

 Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." in verse, John 6:51. Amen.